There's no debating that The Other Typist is smartly written. Every part is meticulously executed from the era, dress, character development and attention to detail. The point of view is personally delivered in a recantation of events from the main characters perspective, which lends to the credibility and trustworthiness of our story-teller. Without falling into the trappings of 'flashback' narrative, Rindell uses Rose's therapy purging as means to deliver the story. I rather like the approach, but it does place a certain constraint on what can be revealed. For example, we can only know or learn about the other characters from Rose - if she isn't privy, neither are we -- so we are left with her speculation, which is hardly reliable. In the end, I was hoping for more of a twist and truly expected it - but it never came, which left me disappointed. The build up was there and clues revealed, but too many holes made this story a bit dry and dissatisfying. Mostly, because important answers were never given. We get a vague idea of what happens in the end simply because of the point of view and references to a doctor, but places throughout remain too much of mystery for me. Not sure I'd compare this one to The Great Gatsby, perhaps, all it has in common is the time period. I'd lean more towards a 1920's version of Single, White Female if pressed to provide a comparison.
